Concealed Scars
by DC111
Summary: I don't think I can pursue you any longer, Sonic. It will kill me. Suggested SonicxAmy.


**Remember **_**The Wounds Beneath the Bandage? **_**Well, this story is quite similar in theme, but Amy is the one telling the story this time. In **_**Wounds,**_** Sonic becomes impatient with Amy's constant insecurity and pestering. In this one, Amy is severely hurt by Sonic's constant rejection. And, like **_**Wounds**_**, I'm not writing this about Sonic and Amy as much as I am about my own experiences (except in a much more creative and interesting way than my own experiences), so it's more personal than some of my other stuff. Never fear, though; they will still be in-character. ;) Oh, and also like my other story, this will only be one chapter, unless there's a huge demand for more.**

Concealed Scars

"…Son—ic?"

The word was an exhale of terror, two syllables that I wasn't even sure had come from my own mouth. If there was screaming around me, I didn't notice. Somebody could have put a knife in my shoulder and I wouldn't have noticed.

I was petrified to the spot. My vision suddenly became limited – very limited. I could only see him. Tails and Knuckles no longer existed. They had been wiped off the face of the earth. My earth, anyway. For that long, torturous moment – which in reality was not too long at all – my eyes were for Sonic's body only.

Sonic's bleeding, _still _body…

Someone who had seen Sonic once or twice in his or her life would not even recognize him now. He… was hardly even blue anymore. Where there wasn't blood, his fur was caked with dirt and dried mud from getting slammed into ground time after time after time…

"Sonic…" I said again. Or maybe I didn't. I couldn't hear my voice or feel my lips move. I felt detached from myself, as if my soul was no longer a part of my body. I felt like I couldn't even control my body if I wanted to… did I even possess the strength to keep it upright?

Just as that awareness reached my consciousness, I felt a dull sense of pain on my knees as they hit the ground. Then, without ever intentionally deciding to do so, I began crawling towards him shakily. I wanted to stop so bad… but something inside – something buried beneath the numbness – wouldn't let me. I had to see him. I had to see him.

And then I was peering down into his face, which happened to be relaxed – far too relaxed. _No…_ I thought, and my mental dictionary shrunk itself until only that single word could fit. _No… no no no. No. No._

He was the only person I had ever loved. People always thought it was a silly teenage infatuation, that it wasn't real, genuine, mature love. Or perhaps they thought I just wanted to date the superhero. But after three years, he was still the only one who ever made my heart _ache _when I looked into his eyes. After three precious years, after I had turned fifteen, I knew I could trust myself when I said, 'he's the only one for me.'

I had been in this situation before, a critical situation where Sonic was injured from battling Eggman or some other criminal and needed help. He had always pulled through. Even with that knowledge, though, I could never bring myself to believe he would do it _again. _His luck would _have _to run out at some point.

Somewhere in a dark corner of my mind, a corner that was barely active right now, I realized the others hadn't yet approached the quiet, still hedgehog. This same part of my mind wondered why. Were they trying to stall Eggman still? I didn't know. What I did know was that I was going to be the first to reach Sonic, the first to be able to provide help. I had never been in that situation before. Did I know what to do? Could I keep my emotions in check long enough to help, or would I break down?

I had a hard time believing I was still capable of breaking down. Everything was so numb… numb with disbelief and denial…

My nose was hovering above his, only inches away. I felt my eyes widen, and, as I stared into his torn up face, I knew the image would remain etched into my memory until the day I died.

It had never been this bad. Never. Eggman had succeeded in outsmarting him, outrunning him, and overpowering him. For a brief moment, my ridiculous optimism faltered; was he actually… was he… actually…

"Eurgh…! AHH!"

I stumbled over backwards and my breath got stuck in my throat. I began to scramble away, terrified, having finally snapped out of my trance.

Then I stopped, and understood just what it was that had made me react so dramatically. Sonic's eyes had opened, and he had cried out in… surprise? Fear? Agony? I didn't know.

My eyes drifted back to his battered, frail form, which was suddenly not so still anymore. It didn't take me long to realize what he was trying to do. "Sonic!" I screeched, afraid on his behalf. "No! Don't try to get up…" I got on my knees and placed my hands on his shoulders, trying to push him back down from his sitting position. "You're really hurt, Sonic! Take it easy… just lay down…"

"Ugh… c'mon, Amy, give me some breathing room! I'm fine!" Sonic shoved my hands away from him and sat up again, this time continuing on to get to his feet. I watched in horrified amazement.

"Sonic," another voice called. Both Sonic and I whipped our heads around. It was Tails. Behind him, Knuckles was holding off Eggman's newest E-series robot. "Hey, Sonic, you all right over there? That was quite a blow!" The fox said.

"I'm okay, bro, thanks!" Sonic hollered back with a thumbs-up. I looked back at him then.

And I saw everything in a different light, quite literally.

The dimness of the dark sky had made Sonic's condition look worse than it was in actuality, and now that he was moving around, I could see that his wounds weren't deep. His fur was dirty, too, but not nearly as bad as the light (coupled with my overactive imagination) had made it look.

He was fine.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

After the battle ended, I asked Sonic several times if he was injured. He had a limp, and I was sane enough to know I wasn't imagining it this time. Every time I asked, he would either glare at me out of the corner of his eye, or say, "For the blank-th time, Amy, yes." Sometimes, he would roll his eyes and grin, like, 'what a silly girl.'

Although I preferred the latter two responses over the first, none of them did it for me. He never thanked me for asking. He had thanked Tails earlier when he had gotten hurt; why not me? I cared about him, too.

I decided to try and break some of the tension. Perhaps, if I offered to make him a warm meal and let him spend the night in my spare room, he would feel better?

"Hey, Sonic," I began.

"I'm not hurt, Amy," he said, not even looking at me.

Frustrated, I folded my arms and stopped. Tails and Knuckles, who were walking right behind us, had to put on the breaks quickly to keep from running into us. "That's _not _what I was going to ask," I muttered. He just shrugged.

"You could've fooled me." He turned away and kept walking. We were almost back to Station Square before he finally decided to ask what I was going to say.

"Like you care," I said, glaring at him. He exhaled an exasperated sigh, and I could see I was only irritating him further. As I wondered why he couldn't just be _nice _to me, I felt my eyes get wet. He must've noticed, because his expression softened slightly as I continued talking. "…I just wanted to offer you… something to eat," I said quietly, my voice shaking. "And… and I have that extra room… so… so I figured you could sleep in a nice comfortable bed and rest up. I figured… you looked like you could… you could use it."

I watched him exchange a glance with Tails, who had that here-we-go-again look in his eyes, and Knuckles, who looked extremely amused. I shook my head in disbelief. None of them took me seriously. None of them thought I actually _cared _about him – they just thought I wanted to get him in my house. And they had no idea… how hard it was… for me to make that offer.

Before Sonic even answered, I blurted, "Do you think I would keep trying to be nice to you and help you just because of a girly crush at this point!? With the way you treat me… _all _of you… do you honestly think I would bother anymore when the ending result is always humiliation?"

None of them said a word. Knuckles was still smirking. Sonic's eyebrows were raised; 'watch the PMSing bitch,' they clearly said.

"Every _single time!!_" I exploded. "Every time, this is what I get! News flash, Sonic: I actually care! Every time you get injured, every time you're in a bad mood, Sonic, I feel your pain! And I want to do everything I can to make you happy… that's all I've _ever _wanted…"

I began to cry openly. I didn't know what their faces looked like anymore, as I couldn't see past my own ocean of tears. I didn't care. "But you _never _reciprocate! You never… you never even _thank _me for anything! Sonic, you care about _every other person in the world but me!_ That's what I've always _loved _you for, is how selfless you are and how brave you are… but now I understand… none of it applies to me, does it? Does it…?"

There they were. The scars I had kept hidden from all of them for so long… I was finally uncovering them for the first time. Not only to them, but to myself.

"I don't chase you… to be a p-pest, you know… I just want to sp-spend some time with you now and then. Know why I hug you every time I get a chance? 'C-cause… I never know when I'll have another chance after that. That's… that's why. If… if you would just stop and talk to me maybe once a week… if you'd just give me a chance… you might actually like me, Sonic. What is it? Why don't you like me? Why don't you care about me, too?"

"…Amy, I…" he broke off, stunned, obviously wanting to comfort me but not knowing what to say. I blinked, and saw that his head was bowed slightly. I wondered if it was remorse.

"If _any _of you knew… what it was like… t-to pursue someone who doesn't love you back, who never shows any sign of compassion for you, who never even says thank you or… who never even… b-buys me a… chili-dog for lunch, like he does for you…" I hiccupped, violently sobbing now. "You would realize… that I love him so much more than you c-can imagine. Despite the way he treats me… I don't give up on him! So, _Sonic—_" I addressed him directly, meeting his nervous gaze "—if that's not _love, _what is?" I didn't even wait for an answer.

"Wh-when you were hurt earlier… I'm sorry I didn't give you breathing room. I just was t-trying to help you. I'm sorry."

If Sonic was planning on answering my question or accepting my apology, I didn't know about it, because I didn't stay long enough to find out. I was afraid of the answer. Afraid of being rejected. I knew I had reached my breaking point, and I knew one more rejection might just kill me.

So I ran and ran.

_If he really is a hero… he'll be my hero too. If he really does feel bad, he'll follow me. He can catch me; he's fast enough. But… if he doesn't care, I don't want to be there to see his reaction. So… sayonara, Sonic the—_

"Hey." His calm, confident voice pierced through the wind and reached my sensitive ears, and almost immediately euphoria exploded within my being. That one single word… unless I was only dreaming it… it had to be the most beautiful thing I had ever heard.

I came to a halt and turned around, tears still streaming down my face. And there he was… the only love of my life. My hero, after all.


End file.
